He's had to answer the same questions since returning to coaching. Now at age 63 and in his first season as a college head coach, he has Coastal Carolina in the FCS playoffs.

The Chanticleers (7-4) will visit Bethune-Cookman (9-2) in a first-round playoff game at 2 p.m. Saturday at Municipal Stadium.

Moglia, the former CEO of TD Ameritrade, has become known as the “billionaire coach.'' Cynics have said Coastal Carolina president David DeCenzo fired David Bennett -- the only football coach the school had ever known -- and hired Moglia last December more for what Moglia could deliver in financial support for the school than in developing a football program.

But Moglia has proven that leadership ability transfers from one field to another.

“After I first left football, I really found out later that I'm a much better business leader because of my experience as a coach,'' Moglia said. “Now frankly, after four years back in the game, I'm a better head coach because of my experience on the global level as a business leader.

For a business leader that made an $800 million profit in 2008 when the rest of Wall Street was shedding billions, the pressure to win a few football games is no pressure at all. He said running a football team and running a multi-billion-dollar business are more similar than one would expect.

“In both cases, the most important decisions you have to make involve people,'' Moglia said. “You've got to be able to handle yourself under pressure. You've got to be able to ignite and excite. You've got to be able to have a strategy that's executable. Your employees or players have to be able to understand that strategy and their role in it. In the business world, you've got to be able to have sustainable long-term earnings. In the world of football, you have to win games.

“The only thing really different is the actual product. The principles behind how you run a business or how you run a program are identical.''

B-CU coach Brian Jenkins has been very impressed with the Chanticleers' product.

“We're going up against a very well-coached football team, a very disciplined football team,'' Jenkins said. “They execute at a high level at every phase. When you watch film on them and try to find a weakness, they have none.''

Moglia points out he had been a coach for 16 years before he convinced Merrill Lynch to hire him in 1984 with no business experience. He coached two high school programs, spent three years as an assistant at Lafayette College and was the defensive coordinator for two years at Dartmouth.

In 2008, he returned to coaching. He joined Nebraska as an “executive advisor,'' a position that was probably more intern, learning the ins and outs of a major college program, than advisory. Last year he became head coach of the UFL's Omaha Nighthawks, posting a 1-4 record.

He didn't start out much better this season, losing four games in a row to fall to 2-4 before winning the final five games and securing the Big South Conference's automatic qualifier in a tiebreaker.

“It's been incredibly rewarding,'' Moglia said. “Whether you're in the business world or the football world, what always mattered most to me is the impact you have on others. I think, as a college football coach you have the opportunity to help an 18- to 22-year-old become a man. That to me is a very big deal, and on top of that I think we've done a good job in laying a foundation to build a nationally competitive football program.

“I couldn't be prouder of what our guys have been doing and what our staff has been doing.''

<p>Joe Moglia remembers the questions he was asked when he tried to transition from the coaching world to the corporate world nearly 30 years ago.<ep></p><p> He's had to answer the same questions since returning to coaching. Now at age 63 and in his first season as a college head coach, he has Coastal Carolina in the FCS playoffs.<ep></p><p> The Chanticleers (7-4) will visit Bethune-Cookman (9-2) in a first-round playoff game at 2 p.m. Saturday at Municipal Stadium.<ep></p><p> Moglia, the former CEO of TD Ameritrade, has become known as the “billionaire coach.'' Cynics have said Coastal Carolina president David DeCenzo fired David Bennett -- the only football coach the school had ever known -- and hired Moglia last December more for what Moglia could deliver in financial support for the school than in developing a football program.<ep></p><p> But Moglia has proven that leadership ability transfers from one field to another.<ep></p><p> “After I first left football, I really found out later that I'm a much better business leader because of my experience as a coach,'' Moglia said. “Now frankly, after four years back in the game, I'm a better head coach because of my experience on the global level as a business leader.<ep></p><p> For a business leader that made an $800 million profit in 2008 when the rest of Wall Street was shedding billions, the pressure to win a few football games is no pressure at all. He said running a football team and running a multi-billion-dollar business are more similar than one would expect.<ep></p><p> “In both cases, the most important decisions you have to make involve people,'' Moglia said. “You've got to be able to handle yourself under pressure. You've got to be able to ignite and excite. You've got to be able to have a strategy that's executable. Your employees or players have to be able to understand that strategy and their role in it. In the business world, you've got to be able to have sustainable long-term earnings. In the world of football, you have to win games.</p><p> “The only thing really different is the actual product. The principles behind how you run a business or how you run a program are identical.''<ep></p><p> B-CU coach Brian Jenkins has been very impressed with the Chanticleers' product.<ep></p><p> “We're going up against a very well-coached football team, a very disciplined football team,'' Jenkins said. “They execute at a high level at every phase. When you watch film on them and try to find a weakness, they have none.''<ep></p><p> Moglia points out he had been a coach for 16 years before he convinced Merrill Lynch to hire him in 1984 with no business experience. He coached two high school programs, spent three years as an assistant at Lafayette College and was the defensive coordinator for two years at Dartmouth.<ep></p><p> In 2008, he returned to coaching. He joined Nebraska as an “executive advisor,'' a position that was probably more intern, learning the ins and outs of a major college program, than advisory. Last year he became head coach of the UFL's Omaha Nighthawks, posting a 1-4 record.<ep></p><p> He didn't start out much better this season, losing four games in a row to fall to 2-4 before winning the final five games and securing the Big South Conference's automatic qualifier in a tiebreaker.<ep></p><p> “It's been incredibly rewarding,'' Moglia said. “Whether you're in the business world or the football world, what always mattered most to me is the impact you have on others. I think, as a college football coach you have the opportunity to help an 18- to 22-year-old become a man. That to me is a very big deal, and on top of that I think we've done a good job in laying a foundation to build a nationally competitive football program.</p><p> “I couldn't be prouder of what our guys have been doing and what our staff has been doing.''</p>